Page 59 of The Black Lotus
“She will meet you there,” I tell her dead body before looking around for anything to clean my DNA from this room.
Limping to the door, I find a room full of screens.She wasn’t lying.This place wasn’t random; it’s her lair. One screen has my breath hitching when I see Serena and Zephira sitting at a laptop in the living room looking like they’re bonding.
I touch her face, the image distorting under the pressure. “I’ll be home soon,” I whisper.
Serena looks up, like she heard me and I gasp. The other screen shows the room I was in.She really was always watching me.
I find a cloth and gloves and walk back into my cage to wipe my fingerprints off everything and place Kara’s hands around the katana piercing her stomach, making it look as if she’d taken herself out. I pick up every piece of shredded clothing I can find, then find a broom to clean up anything I missed. Looking at the blood stains on the ground, I walk back into the room, searching for any type of cleaning supplies.
After what feels like forever, I find a small bottle of bleach. Thanking whichever god is listening, I go back and scrub away all of the evidence, taking small breaks in between to catch my breath. My body is exhausted and I need rest, but I also need to push through.
Once I’m satisfied with my work, I look for an exit but find none.If she’s anything like me, there must be a secret doorway.I start clicking buttons, moving things around but find nothing.
I plop into the chair as exhaustion begins taking over me, placing my elbows on my knees to rest my head on my hands and catch my breath.No, I need to find a way out.Getting up once more on shaky legs, I look at the ground and notice scuff marks by a bookshelf. Wrapping my one good hand around the frame, I pull as hard as I can, watching with relief as the shelf slowly drags open revealing an opening. I stumble through, a living room greeting me.This is a house, her secret location was in her own house. She really wanted to be like my parents. I passa long hallway with several doors I don’t care to go into, heading straight for the kitchen.
Relief floods me as I open the fridge with my gloved hands and find a shelf full of water. It could be poisoned, but with how thirsty I am, I twist the cap and down three bottles back-to-back.
Once I’m satisfied, I look for keys. My legs wobble the more I search, my body on its last leg.I can’t rest. I can’t give up. I need to make it home.
Stumbling to the front door, I see a little hanger full of keys.Should’ve looked here first.I grab the set that has a little fob and click the unlock button, listening for the sound of a car. I hear it further into the house which tells me the car is in the garage.
Slowly, I make my way back down the long hall, clicking the button again and noticing a door I failed to see the last time. Relief floods me as I swing it open to find the garage and Kara’s car.
Getting in, I slam the door and look at the GPS to see where I am. I don’t recognize the name of the city I’m in, but, according to her home address, I’m still in Massachusetts.
Instead of punching in my address, which the cops could trace, I type the address of somewhere I know I can get home to by heart.
The little voice tells me my estimated time of arrival is two hours. I smack both of my cheeks to shake away the drowsiness begging to pull me under as I grip the steering wheel and pull out of the garage and speed onto the empty road.
Hang on, Serena, I’m coming.
THIRTY-THREE
SERENA
Knowing who took Aster and finding her are two completely different things. One was only possible because of Cynthia, and the other is impossible. I feel defeated, everytime we think we’re close to any kind of answer, a giant wall; and I mean a literal wall on Zephira’s program, it covers her computer and then we’re back to square one. She said she is close to figuring out how to work around the virus, but it’s been five days, and we aren’t any closer to locating him than when we started.
I have locked myself in our room while Zephira continues to run her programs. She was trying to talk more, opening up and offering the friendship I was desperate for, but I can’t be around anyone right now.Not until Aster is home.
I lay on my back, staring up at the ceiling and creating shapes out of nothing. I look over to where Aster sleeps as my hand glides across the bedding, my fingers squeezing around the black fabric and wrinkling the otherwise pristine surface. “I miss you,” I whisper.
“I’ve missed you, too,” I hear his voice say back to me, my lower lip quivering as a sad smile covers my face.
Great; now I’m hearing him in my head. Soon I’ll be seeing him and imagining he’s there when he’s not.
I feel the bed dip, and my heart accelerates as I whip around to see a very bruised, very cut up Aster in front of me.Is this real?
Springing up, my hands cup his face as tears flood to my eyes. “Are you real?”
His hand cradles around my own. “I’m really here, little vixen,” he softly says.
A sob bursts free as I wrap my arms around him and cry into his shoulders. My body relaxes in his hold, the chains that were constricting me breaking free, and I feel like I can breathe for the first time since he was taken. The weight that has been heavy on my heart from not being able to do anything finally falls free.He’s here. He’shome.
I extend my arms to get a good look at him, searching his features.What is this?My brow furrows as I slowly bring my hand up to touch the new scar on his eye. He winces and my face falls.
“Hey,” he whispers, bringing my sad gaze to his concerned one. His features soften watching me watch him. “I’m okay.”
“I’m sorry we couldn’t find you.” I grab his hands, a hiss escaping his lips. Releasing his hands quickly, I’m scared I’ve injured him further. “What happened?” I whisper, my body shaking as I realize how badly he’s been treated.
